Dining plan complaints

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Did you ask for a refund when they changed the restaurants?

I'm not getting it. Why would you ask for a refund simply because they changed some restaurants on a list??

**Never mind, I reread it. I understand your question. But I still think it's a little thing to ask.

Shouldn't one's expectation for a correct list be a reasonable one?

 

[eeyore45]

This thread is labeled "Dining Plan Complaints"

So I opened thinking I can learn from problems associated with a new plan. I even thought that maybe Disney can learn from "complaints"> that is, since the whole MYW plan and Dining option is new, you learn from "mistakes" and one should be able to voice 'complaints'... imho

Plus, I feel I can learn from posts, I'm trying to decide whether it is an option, much like last year when I came to the Dis I read everything about vouchers, and I bought in, and I got fantastic deals - and I guess I will admit, I was spoiled.

So whatever Disney's purpose in doing things this way, instead of that way, we shouldnt point fingers at each others.. just the facts of your experience. (including the OP who felt that if we read we'd know...)

so I say complain away, as I sit back and take notes!!

 

[TRC]

Marykate's mom, I'm not expecting perfection, I'm expecting competency. To do complete research on what restaurants are to be in the plan before putting out the plan is not a lot to ask for. And the reason I chose the plan was b/c of the restaurants on the plan; and after I paid for the plan, they changed them. That is incompetent. The determination of which restaurants can "fit" in the plan is a simple issue of mathematics, i.e., this restaurant charges so much for things and how does it equal up with the $35 a day. That easily could have been done before the plan was being sold.

I am surprised that some of you have such a problem with people making complaints about the plan. I have a right to make a complaint, I was not hysterical about it, I did not act like a prima donna about my complaint, I just showed my position.

Complaining about people who complain about complainers?


How could they do a complete research? Do they have a crystal ball? How do they "know" exactly what each person is going to do?

I didn't read anywhere in the ONE sentence that marykatesmom said you couldn't complain. Doesn't she (I'm assuming here) have the right to state her opinion that perfection is impossible?

It would seem to be a greater incompentancy for the business to run at a loss. Seems to me that by changing the restaurants they are watching the program closely.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I agree, I think the expectation of a correct list is reasonable but Disney rarely guarantees anything. Disney has many disclaimers about things, such as hours in the park being subject to change and they do, even after decades of experience.

So I'm not sure how they are supposed to "know" exactly how a program that is not even two months old will proceed.

 

[TRC]

"I understand "kinks"; however, if I'm paying for the plan - everything should be worked out before they start selling it.

Um, "kinks" means everything isn't worked out.

 

[Amirah95]

I think that if Disney wants to make changes to its packages then that's all fine and good but it should go in effect the day it is changed. To go backwards and edit a purchased package is unfair. Maybe this type of thing has never happened to you before, but if it did you would be furious too. This is much bigger than disclaimers regarding park hours. We are talking about thousands of dollars here.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Yes, this type of thing has happened in the past. Two weeks before our visit last May, they ran a trial of evening EMH. After everything was paid. I had to completely reschedule almost every PS. My DD's never made it to the evening hours and I'm a morning person. So I lost hours in the park that are priceless to me. Yes, I was furious, yes I complained.

I never said anyone didn't have the right to an opinion so don't put words in my mouth. If someone got defensive and went on to attack my opinion that is their problem.

I sincerely appreciate everyone's feedback on how the MYW dining works. That is what is wonderful about the disboards, it is a learning experience. I love everyone's opinion which is why I read them. It is how I educate myself on what can be an overwhelming experience.

The OP was discussing how if expectations are not met, including unrealistic ones, then people are setting themselves up for a dissapointment. I agree with this position.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Please remember to keep everything civil.

This thread is getting just a bit warm - heading toward flames.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I have a few points to add: I was disappointed with Disney service on this plan as well, but for completely different reasons. I originally booked my room with a discount, but this new plan looked great. So I read over the Disney webite, and under their questions section, it says that you can ALWAYS add it to an existing room reservation if you also buy MYW tickets - this is not true. Even though I called about this a month ago, this mis-information is still on their website!

So I called Disney, and their staff was clueless. First, I had to call many times just to get through, then their system was down, then the staff kept passing me around through their phone system (nobody knew if I could add it to my existing reservation), then I spent about 45 minutes (at my expense) on the phone with a CM who attempted to book the plan for me. When I asked her up front, she said, yes, the new plan could be added so long as there were rooms still available for my dates. Her computer was very slow! She ahd to wait each time I gave her any of my information, then she had to wait while the system found a room, and it wasn't until after all this that she finally talked to a supervisor who told her it couldn't be added to a room ressie with a discount. I was polite, but the supervisor was downright rude to me! So I sent an email, and I'm still waiting for any response - that was over a month ago!

I think this whole series indicates a SERIOUS lack on the part of Disney, IMHO. The funniest/saddest part is that after wading through their awful phone system - one option you finally get to is to talk to a person who can "answer questions about the new MYW program" - These CM's were the most clueless of all, and couldn't answer any of my questions about the new plan! Ver y sad.

 

[boucheresq]

Mickeyluv'r, I had the same problem. I gave up my BDP rate and bought tix (I already had tix and sold them to do this package) for this package to get the dining plan and then it wasn't worth it. Yes, I did attempt to get my BDP rate back and get off the package, they would let me take off the dining plan and tix, but would not let me have my room back at the original rate.

And MaryKate, you still talk about "perfection" but the issue truly is competence. It would be very easy for a professional to do the "math" for each restaurant in WDW to see, financially, which should be in the plan and at what level w/o a huge loss to Disney and which should remain off. WDW obviously did not do that as shown by the changes in the levels each restaurant would be in and taking some off. It's like Disney decided "oops" Le Cellier costs too much, lets change it to a 2 sit down meal instead of one.

 

[DebbieB]

I am a southern destination travel specialist. I book tons of Disney packages. I just wanted to put in a few words about the new standard dining package Disney is offering for 2006. I have seen some negative reports and it makes me angry. As with everything there is going to be problems at first. Keep in mind that this package is only a few weeks old and Disney is still in the process of negotiating with more restaurants and educating their cast member employees. There is always going to be someone that is not happy with things and that is everywhere you go.

That should have been done before the plan was rolled out. They should have had the restaurants in place and the cast members trained before 1/2/05.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Mickeyluv'r, I had the same problem. I gave up my BDP rate and bought tix (I already had tix and sold them to do this package) for this package to get the dining plan and then it wasn't worth it. Yes, I did attempt to get my BDP rate back and get off the package, they would let me take off the dining plan and tix, but would not let me have my room back at the original rate.

And MaryKate, you still talk about "perfection" but the issue truly is competence. It would be very easy for a professional to do the "math" for each restaurant in WDW to see, financially, which should be in the plan and at what level w/o a huge loss to Disney and which should remain off. WDW obviously did not do that as shown by the changes in the levels each restaurant would be in and taking some off. It's like Disney decided "oops" Le Cellier costs too much, lets change it to a 2 sit down meal instead of one.

I think that more of this has to do with the individual restaurants than it does with Disney.

Those Worldshowcase Restaurants are owned and operated by the sponsoring country of each pavilion.

I have a feeling they may opted into the dining plan to begin with, but then found that they were losing money so either a.) opted out of the dining plan, or b.) raised their rates to warrant 2 sit down meals.

So as much as you might like to believe that it's completely Disney's fault, I think you need to consider that a lot of it probably has more to do with the individual restaurants than Disney.

 

[boucheresq]

there were also restaurant changes for WDW restaurants not in the Showcase.

 

[mamapajama]

As I have an AP this topic really doesn't apply to me but the one thing I have to say regarding this & what I've been reading is that once a restaurant commits to participating they shouldn't be allowed to back out of it. I'm sure everyone had plenty of time to mull over the pros & cons money wise of being a participating restaurant. If you purchase this plan based on certain restaurants, and then they change it to restaurants that maybe you don't like then I can certainly see wanting a refund. And I can see how it would be upsetting to have to rethink all your plans. We don't eat at certain restaurants in Epcot because we don't like certain kinds of food & if they changed over to mostly ones we don't care for then I wouldn't want to waste my money on food we don't eat. The changes are annoying.

Last year when they were testing out EMH it was a pain trying to plan (& if WDW EVER looks at any of these boards, they know that most of us are obsessive planners LOL) my days not knowing what was going to be and that is sort of continuing now with the EMH hours not being set at 90 days in advance. Again, once they decide on something they shouldn't be changing it too much. And I know that the official calendar & hours were never "out" 90 days before but EMH was always the same. Many people come to WDW once in a lifetime & spend lots of time & moneyplanning it & if they allow you to make PS 90 days out than the hours (at least EMH schedule) should, more or less, be set 90 days out. I realize that times have always been "subject to change" but I don't think as a rule they've been so crazy with the changes. They seemed to be more the exception than the rule & now it's sort of looking like it's more the opposite. For this trip I only made one PS and that was for lunch so a change in hours won't really effect me but I would be very upset if I tried like heck to get CRT & got it & then it had to be changed because EMH was changed and then I couldn't get CRT. That's not nice . It just looks as though a lot of the powers that be can't make up their minds about some stuff.

If they opened up MYW Dining to anyone, then I would look into it but I would make surre that I could get a refund at anytime before first use in case changes were made to the plan that didn't suit us - To protect myself from the "subject to change clause." It's not unreasonable to expect to get what you've paid for and I think that's what a lot of the hubbub seems to be about. At least that would upset me. Change is good but not when I'm paying top dollar. I want what I pay for.

I don't know why people feel compelled to "complain about people complaining" as someone put it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and as such, others are entitled to agree with it or not. Sometimes things get a little crazy though. Just because someone has an opinion that differs, doesn't mean either anyone of them deserves to be tarred & feathered for it. I just don't understand how things get so heated.
I mean it's DISNEY!! It's all good!

So that is my 2 cents LOL! I'm going to get the fire extinguisher, just in case

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I imagine the math wouldn’t be as simple as addition.

WDW most likely did a survey of say 100 people who actually ate at WDW restaurants and found (I am trying to make it simple): 25 ate at restaurant A for an average of $20 a meal, 25 at restaurant B for $25 a meal, 25 at restaurant C for $30 a meal, and 25 at restaurant D for $35 a meal. Making an average of $27.5 a meal.

Then they had to do an estimate of how many people would take advantage of the plan that don’t normally eat at WDW but might with a dining plan because that is the purpose of the plan, to encourage more visitors to eat on property. There wouldn’t be any real numbers for that figure. That is one unknown.

The second unknown would be the behavior changes of those that normally eat at WDW but now have a pay-one-price plan. In other words, until they have real world information, how would they “know” that everyone in restaurant A would continue dining there and not move to restaurant D? Maybe 25% change destinations, maybe 75% would change. Until the plan is implemented it would only be estimations. An unknown variable would be the dining plan itself.

The third variable would be the changes in ordering patterns within the plan. There is no way for the company to say with any degree of certainty that those diners in restaurant D would continue to make only $35 worth of purchases. How many would add an appetizer that normally would never order one? How many in restaurant A would add a dessert? If the average appetizer in restaurant A is $5 that is a simple number, but how many would order the $3 appetizer and how many would order the $10 appetizer? Again, without definite figures, putting a price on the plan is conjecture.

Until the plan was put into real world use, the price of the plan would be an educated guess and not simple math. The three variables would be very difficult to assess accurately.

However, the complaints about uniformed CM’s is inexcusable and a sign of incompetence. I do agree with that statement.

 

[Amirah95]

I really don't care how they do their math, surveys, etc. Disney needs to fix it and leave it alone or make changes annually (I can deal with that better). I agree with mamapajama the sudden changes are very annoying especially after I paid for my package thinking we will be able to eat at the restaurants I wanted.

My DH doesn't seem to have a problem with this (pfft) so he opted to upgrade us to the premium package that way I won't have problems with my planning. I couldn't call the agent back because I was still too annoyed with the whole situation. Still, we shouldn't have had to do that because the package we originally paid for had the restaurants we wanted. Good luck to everyone else who are trying to change their packages to fit their needs.

 

[TRC]

I really don't care how they do their math, surveys, etc. Disney needs to fix it and leave it alone or make changes annually (I can deal with that better). I agree with mamapajama the sudden changes are very annoying especially after I paid for my package thinking we will be able to eat at the restaurants I wanted.

My DH doesn't seem to have a problem with this (pfft) so he opted to upgrade us to the premium package that way I won't have problems with my planning. I couldn't call the agent back because I was still too annoyed with the whole situation. Still, we shouldn't have had to do that because the package we originally paid for had the restaurants we wanted. Good luck to everyone else who are trying to change their packages to fit their needs.

Disney tools around with everything. Expecting them to freeze a program for a year that is probably bleeding money isn't realistic.

They don't have their hours 90 days out, after all these years in business and probably hundreds of complaints about PS's. It isn't reasonable for them to guarantee something so new for a year. That is just my opinion and what the OP was trying to explain. Unrealistic expectations cause dissapointment and in your case, you said yourself you're annoyed.

What probably happened is everyone did research and found that they could get a $40 meal at Le Cellier for $35, then guess what? People that wouldn't have gone to Le Cellier at all, ordered a full course meal and all the extra's were practically free.

The most flexible plan that would fit everyone's needs is NOT a package that has limitations.

 

[Lewisc]

there were also restaurant changes for WDW restaurants not in the Showcase.

I know Canada went to signature status. What other changes were made?

 

[Gillian]

Disney should have a lot of data already. They have been running restaurants and offering packages for a long time. Someone should have been able to figure out what restaurants are a good deal.

-They know what people typically spend in these restaurants. No need for surveys.
-They should have an idea of how/if people eat differently when using a package, because they've had packages in the past.

How long did it take DISers to figure out that Le Cellier was a bargain when the list first came out? About 2 minutes? How come it took Disney so long to see that??

 

[Lewisc]

Disney should have a lot of data already. They have been running restaurants and offering packages for a long time. Someone should have been able to figure out what restaurants are a good deal.

-They know what people typically spend in these restaurants. No need for surveys.
-They should have an idea of how/if people eat differently when using a package, because they've had packages in the past.

How long did it take DISers to figure out that Le Cellier was a bargain when the list first came out? About 2 minutes? How come it took Disney so long to see that??

Le Cellier may not have known that they were going to be the most expensive restaurant that didn't require 2 meals.

Disney's previous lower end dining package was converted to a discount program. I'm not sure Disney was anticipating as many internet boards/customers basing their dining decision solely on the basis of getting the most expensive meals in the most expensive restaurants.